We recently connected with Adrianna Zizzo and have shared our conversation below.
Adrianna, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
My parents have always been huge supporters of my career choices and whether they’d like to admit it or not, they are risk takers themselves. I have changed jobs multiple times and even tried to go the corporate route with benefits and all. I knew it wasn’t for me. They opened an Italian restaurant in their 40s, with two young children and it was a success for 15 years! I’ve always admired them for following their dream. Now, 12 years after their business has been closed, I’m trying breathe new life into what it’s like to be a business owner, all while sharing my Italian heritage & my family’s recipes with everyone and anyone that enjoys my product.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the owner of Not Your Nonna’s Sauce Company. All of our sauces are scratch made and locally sourced (to the best of our ability) to ensure the best and freshest sauce for all of our amazing customers. All of our sauces are inspired by family recipes or other cultures around the world. When I first started this business, I went to members of my family and asked them how they made their sauces and even made sauce with them. I wanted my product to be as authentic as possible. The more my brand started to grow, the more I wanted to innovate with unique flavors and spices. Pasta sauce is one of the most common grocery store items and I wanted to make sure that my sauces were unique enough for you to skip the grocery store and head to the farmer’s market for my product! I try to create sauces that are not only unique to the palate, but also inclusive to people with food sensitivities. Our sauces are made without added sugars and 90% of our sauces are vegan. I even created a few seasonal pestos that are nut free so that customers with nut allergies can enjoy pesto without any allergic reactions. Creating a product that all can enjoy is one of my biggest goals for this business. Everyone deserves to eat good food.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Working customer service, growing up in a restaurant and working for small businesses really shaped me into the person I am today. I worked for a corporate company once while I was in college, I hated it and lasted for about 3 weeks and never looked back. Ever since then, I told myself that I’d only work for small businesses. When you work for a small business you wear many hats. You’re not JUST a server, you’re also a self manager, busser, food runner, bartender, barback, door guy, ID checker, package signer, inventory taker, social media manager, event planner and more. Working for a small business teaches you to take on many tasks and challenges you more than you will ever be challenged. I highly suggest looking for jobs that are outside of your comfort zone, pay grade and even jobs you’re not qualified for. The worst that can happen is you won’t get the job. Change is the only constant in life, if you want to see change in your career or want more for yourself you have to be willing to make a change. Try something completely different than what you’re used to, who knows where it could lead to!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I take time off. We live in this “hustle culture” that I feel can be a little toxic. Don’t get me wrong, working hard and hustling are important, especially when it comes to owning a business, but it can be insanely overwhelming and stressful. which we don’t always portray through social media. I have to schedule time off for myself and sometimes I feel guilty for doing so, knowing so much needs to get done, but that’s the thing, it’ll get done just not right away. Working for yourself takes a lot of self discipline and I think that keeping a daily routine and weekly schedule has allowed for me to balance work and play.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.notyournonnassauce.com
- Instagram: notyournonnas_sd
- Facebook: notyournonnas_sd
- Other: TikTok: notyournonnas
